As many of you have heard, I am spending the night at Phoenix Children’s Hospital with Owen, our second son, who lost part of his toe today.

Owen and his brothers were looking for the TV remote so they stood our large, heavy leather ottoman on its side to look under it. One of Owen’s younger brothers pushed it over and the metal leg landed squarely on the third toe of his left foot, taking with it a decent chunk of toe which we put in a bag with ice. We went to Phoenix Children’s Urgent Care who send us to the main hospital where Owen and I are staying the night.

They determined that because some of the bone was severed, they would not re-attach the toe piece. Instead, he’ll go in to surgery tomorrow morning to clean up the area and close it up. In the meantime, his foot is wrapped and he’s on IV antibiotics and pain medicine.

They gave us the option of keeping the toe and Owen decided that he wanted to keep it and bury it in the backyard. He said that it will be cool when it gets all mushy. He also asked if he could take the piece of toe to school for show and tell. I told him no even though that would pretty much be the best fourth-grade show and tell ever, don’t you think?!

On the up-side, we were given a glimpse today of brotherly love. The younger brother who instigated the horrible accident feels horrible but it was his older brother who comforted Owen and stayed by his side as long as possible. It’s telling how children react in moments of crisis like this one. Even though they fight all of the time, we were able to see true brotherly love.

Please pray for Owen and our family. Owen is pretty nervous about the surgery. Please pray that God would be his comfort and strength (and the same for his Mommy too!). Please pray for a smooth operation, a speedy recovery and the finances involved in an overnight hospital stay.